Tag: Staffing
Twin challenges to the public service
The public sector is entering another period where dramatic changes are coming. This is precisely the time to advocate for the importance of a dynamic, effective public service and to argue for mindful, smart management of these forces of change.
If spending is out of control, why are important federal services underfunded?
Spending is just one tool in any federal government’s policy box. There are other ways to advance priorities. But spending is the most visible way to signal where the government’s prime concerns and values lie.
Transitions and reboots for the Canadian public service
A new clerk takes the top job at a period of unusual attention and angst in the Canadian government. Political tumult is ever-present, even two years from an election, and planned restraint on public spending likely means tough decisions to come. All the more reason to celebrate the role of officials this Public Service Week
LETTER FROM OTTAWA: Strikes and Other Storm Clouds are on the Horizon for Canada’s Public Service.
Spring has taken its time to arrive in most of Canada this year. An April ice storm knocked out electricity to more than a million customers in Montreal and surrounding areas, creating flashbacks to a similar event in late 1998. However, arrive it has, and with it familiar and comforting rites, notably the ice hockey…
The never-ending question of contracting in the public service
Over the last few months, we have seen a rising tide of interest in the use of contracted services by the federal government. The latest episode seems to have crystallized around the use of consulting firms, notably McKinsey & Company. It has triggered another round of partisan squabbling at a parliamentary committee and the pack…
The pull and push of the centre that haunts the public service
The federal public sector has been shaped by two easily identifiable democratic forces – the views of the people we elect about the role of the state in society and the economy as well as the federal government’s role within the federation. Federal institutions, direct programs and transfers to other levels of government have waxed…
Leaving the comfort zone: Difficult issues in public sector reform
Much of the commentary on the public sector stays at the level of generalities. Exhortations to become more strategic, more inclusive, bolder in advice and better in delivery are impossible to contest. Too often, the discussion stops short of analyzing resistance or tradeoff among objectives. As in so many things, we are much better at…
Letter from Ottawa: The changing of the political seasons – and royal eras
Politics is gearing up again in Canada as summer turns to autumn. Michael Wernick, the former clerk of the privy council and secretary to cabinet, sets out the stakes in months – and years – ahead, and reflects on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II
Letter from Ottawa: a little perspective on public service problems
Passport processing delays have prompted debate about service delivery in Canada. Michael Wernick, the country’s former cabinet secretary, warns against catastrophising – and says old ways of talking about the public service stand in the way of progress
Letter from Ottawa: After a winter of shocks, Canada’s Budget is the latest sign of stability
A political agreement that increased the durability of the government and a Budget that that launched a number of policy reviews indicate that the government in Ottawa is trying to think more long term.